Writing about the life of Siddhartha Gautama (also spelled as Siddartha / Siddharta) is a very big task, because there is just simply a lot of information about Him, and I really don’t know how to write about Him in this blog.

Today is a special day because this is my 700th article, and I thought I’d write about Buddha Sakyamuni (also spelled as Shakyamuni) because in a way I have reached a milestone. However, I still don’t know how to write about his life, but instead I will write about one of the most frequent question people ask me: If Amitabha Buddha is known for protection and Medicine Buddha is known for health and wealth, what is Sakyamuni Buddha known for?

First, all Buddhas or Bodhisattvas are capable of doing all things, it’s just that they have certain vows or certain character drawn from vows or life as written in the sutra that makes them known for certain virtues.

This is the most common image of Sakyamuni Buddha!

Rare form of the image of Shakyamuni Buddha, which I like better because His other hand is in the Mudra of a Blessing!

Buddha Sakyamuni is the Historical Buddha because He is the Buddha who manifested in human form in this lifetime. Amitabha Buddha also manifested in human in a different lifetime. And in the next lifetime Bodhisattva Maitreya is the one foretold to be the Buddha who will manifest in a human form. Anyway, Buddha Sakyamuni is also called the Fundamental Teacher because all the Buddhist teachings that we know now and all the Buddhist practices that we know now came from Him. It is in this regard that Buddha Sakyamuni is said to bring about wisdom for all of us. But more than that His wisdom is especially for leaders who lead their country, city, business, or even department.

In a hostile environment, having the Vajrapani Ruel to tap into the power of Bodhisattva Vajrapani is important to give us a winning edge. But pairing the Vajrapani Ruel with the power of Buddha Sakyamuni, will help give you wisdom how to diffuse the hostile environment. Buddha Sakyamuni, when He was still in human form also managed several Sangha communities, each Sangha community consists of about 2,000 Bhiksus (monks) and several more Bhiksunis (Buddhist nuns) and most of these communities also have Upasakas (male Buddhist students – not monks) and Upasikas (female Buddhist students – not nuns). And he is able to manage all of them all of these Sangha communities without having major concerns or problems. So when we tap into the power of Sakyamuni Buddha (Shakyamuni Buddha) we are able to tap into His power of managing a community (in present life businesses, departments, etc.) in a way we are able to gain respect and love but at the same time leadership powers.

Furthermore, Sakyamuni Buddha in so many ways is also a diplomat. Politicians (Emperors, etc.) would go to Him and seek His advice, more than that He has curbed some wars and conflicts. This shows that when we tap into His power we are able to become diplomat and deal with high statesmen with confidence.

The best way to tap into the power of Sakyamuni Buddha and honor Him is by chanting His mantra, wearing His image, and more also lighting incense and making offerings in front of his image.

Yesterday, was the feast day of the Bodhisattva Vajrapani and this marks a wonderful next 15 days (starting today) because it is said that the Vajrapani Ruel or the mantra of Vajrapani Bodhisattva is even more powerful in the 15 days after his feast day.

Namo Vajrapani Bodhisattva

Bodhisattva Vajrapani is unique in the sense that the celebration of his feast day is highlighted after the actual day. Why? This is because Vajrapani Bodhisattva is said to be a secret guardian. In the introduction of Vajrapani Ruel, in the post called – THE WORLD’S MOST POWERFUL AMULET IN THE BUDDHIST PANTHEON CALLED VAJRAPANI RUEL – you will get to read that it is Bodhisattva Vajrapani who protected the then still not fully enlightened and still very human Gautama Siddhartha. At that time, Gautama Siddhartha is fast approaching enlightenment, then a demon attacked him so that he will not reach full enlightenment, it was then Bodhisattva Vajrapani was instructed by Amitabha Buddha to protect the then human Bodhisattva Gautama Siddhartha, who became the Historical Buddha, Shakyamuni. In a way, Shakyamuni Buddha (Sakyamuni Buddha) became a Buddha because of Vajrapani Bodhisattva.

All Bodhisattvas are powerful but it is only Bodhisattva Vajrapani who has been described as powerful. This is because he is mostly characterized by his power, as Kuan Yin (also know as Avalokitesvara, Kwan Yin, Guan Yin, Gwan Yin, Kannon) is characterized by her compassion, Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva by his vow, Samantabhadra Bodhisattva by her conduct, and Manjushri Bodhisattva by his wisdom. How the Bodhisattvas are characterized says a lot about them, and no other Bodhisattvas got the characterization of power except Bodhisattva Vajrapani.

It is because Vajrapani Bodhisattva is a secret guardian that is traditionally a day after his feast day that his power is celebrated or tapped. This blog has a lot of Bodhisattva Vajrapani miraculous personal testimonies, mostly because of the Vajrapani Ruel. These stories shows how powerful Bodhisattva Vajrapani really is. But even if you don’t have the Vajrapani Ruel, you can still tap into his power by simply chanting Bodhisattva Vajrapani’s mantra – OM VAJRAPANI HUM – under deep meditative level.

The Vajrapani Ruel looks simple, maybe even rustic, but this simple amulet is packed with a special talisman paper inside, with various ingredients, which includes Namtso Salt, soil, various herbs and plants, crystal, and a relic from a high lama. It’s important to put the ruel inside a amulet holder or something sturdy as to not ruin it. If the cloth had tear which exposes or spill the ingredients inside, the ruel becomes useless. The Vajrapani Ruel itself is only about 1 to 2 inches and it varies from one ruel to another.

Furthermore, if you have the Vajrapani Ruel, and couple it with chanting the mantra OM VAJRAPANI HUM, will make the next 15 days really miraculous days. And if you can go vegan for the next 15 days all the more better, because going vegan will have cleanse your body from all the yin foods or foods that have to die first for you to be able to eat. Doing this as a symbolic offering to the Bodhisattva Vajrapani will make you more open to his wonderful blessings.

The word buddha means ‘The Awakened One’, this refers to being awakened to the ultimate reality, to the true nature of the mind; being one who understands the world and all sentient beings without delusion, one who is perfect in wisdom and compassion. The Buddha is also sometimes called as the ‘Thus Come One’ or Tathagata, or the ‘World – Honored One’ or Bhagavat.

The Buddha is a historical being, and enjoys more evidence and historical facts than Jesus Christ that he actually existed. He is a Indian prince whose given name is Siddhartha. I will try to write more about Buddha extensively in future posts, but allow me to share briefly some of the highlights of his life now.

After years of diligent practice, Siddhartha, sitting under a Bodhi tree reach supreme enlightenment. Please note that the Bodhi tree was not called Bodhi tree then, it came after. When Siddhartha reached enlightenment, it is said that his very first words are, “Wonder of wonders! All sentient beings are inherently complete and perfect! But they do not realize it because of their delusions and cravings.”

When he reached enlightenment, he became known as Sakyamuni or Gautama Buddha. Gautama is from his name Siddharta Gautama, he then also embarked on an endless but untiring journey to teach living beings how to see the reality, how to gain true wisdom, and how to free themselves and attain true peace and joy.

Sakyamuni Buddha’s teachings are called Dharma.

Sakyamuni Buddha also gained several followers who renounced their home life to devote their lives to the practice of Dharma, and to teach other sentient beings. They formed the ordained community of Buddhist monks and nuns and is called as the Sangha.

Sangha means ‘harmony’ or ‘harmonious assembly’. They are responsible for preserving and propagating the Dharma.

Buddha, Dharma, and Sangha are collectively called as the Three Jewels, because they are considered as the true treasures of the World.

However, why do many of us still suffer? Many of us still go through some form of suffering because of either of two things. One, it can be due to the fact that our house Feng Shui is bad, or it can be also due to karma, whether past life karma or recent karma. When I say recent karma, I refer to karma that is sowed during this current lifetime.

Today, allow me to introduce to you another such Bodhisattva, who in reality is already a Buddha but vowed to stay on as a Bodhisattva until such time there is no longer any soul in hell. I’m referring to Ksitigarbha Buddha, who again is actually a Bodhisattva.

Ksitigarbha Buddha, is usually depicted as a Buddhist monk, and for bigger temples, he usually has his own temple hall. In the Philippines, and smaller hall he is usually placed at the memorial halls of the dead or mausoleums this is because of his vow to save people from hell. Personally speaking, I believe this is a limitation of how Ksitigarbha should be perceived. A lot of Filipino – Chinese Buddhists thinks of Ksitigarbha only as a Bodhisattva of the souls of the dead. While it’s perfectly true and accurate, this belief doesn’t paint the whole picture of who Ksitigarbha truly is.

Ksitigarbha Buddha or Dizang P’usa (also spelled as Ti Tsang P’usa, he is also called in Chinese as Dizang Wang P’usa or Ti Tsang Wang P’usa). There are a lot of translations of Ksitigarbha’s name in English, but the most common one is Earth Store.

Ksitigarbha Buddha or Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva is known for his vow to take care take responsibility of souls that are experiencing hell. This is where the translation becomes a little muddy; because some people took it to mean the literal hell, and while they are not incorrect, they’re not entirely correct either. I personally believe the other translation, hell means suffering, whether these are the souls that are suffering when they are in – between transitions from one earth life to another, or it is suffering because of what we are going through here on earth. Some people seems to have forgotten that Ksitigarbha’s vow is to take responsibility for the enlightenment of all souls in the six worlds between the physical death of Gautama (Sakyamuni or Shakyamuni) Buddha (also known as the Historical Buddha) and the rise of Maitreya Buddha (also known as the Happy Buddha or the Future Buddha), with this vow is the vow of not entering Buddhahood until all hells are emptied.

I mentioned earlier that Ksitigarbha Buddha is second to Bodhisattva of Compassion, Kuan Yin in terms of ‘popularity’ and followers to East Asian Buddhist. What’s striking is that Kuan Yin, became a woman in China from the male form of Avalokitesvara.

Ksitigarbha also had a transformation of gender, however with Ksitigarbha, he was she before she became a he. Also, unlike Kuan Yin, it is believed that Ksitigarbha really became a human being.

Much of what we know about Ksitigarbha Buddha or Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva is base on his own sutra, Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva Purvapranidhana Sutra, which is one of the most popular sutra in Mahayana Buddhism. It is said to have been spoke by Sakyamuni Buddha himself to the Trayastrimsa Heaven towards the end is earth life.

To this day it’s not clear whether the Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva Purvapranidhana Sutra has an Indian or Chinese origins. It was first believed that Tipitaka Master Siksananda, who is a famous Buddhist monk from Khotan who also provided a new translation of the Avatamsaka Sutra and the Lankavatara Sutra, translated it from the Sanskrit into Chinese during the Tang Dynasty in the 7th century. However, among all the sutras, Ksitigarbha Sutra strongly advocates filial piety, w/c was stereotype associated with Chinese culture. It talked about Ksitigarbha’s filial piety as a human or mortal, which lead to great vows to save all sentient being. Furthermore, no Sanskrit manuscript of Ksitigarbha’s sutras was ever found, which strengthen the belief that it is of Chinese origin.

According to his sutra, Ksitigarbha was a maiden in the distant past eons. He or she was of the Brahmin caste named Sacred Girl. She was said to have shown love and respect towards her parents, especially her mother. When her mother died, Sacred Girl became deeply troubled because her mother had been very slanderous towards the Triple Gem. Wanting to save her mother from the tremendous tortures of hell, Sacred Girl sold everything she has to buy offerings for the Buddha of her era. The Buddha then is known as the Buddha of the Flower of Meditation and Enlightenment. Remember that Sakyamuni Buddha was then still a Bodhisattva.

Some Buddhists, specially in japan and China (where the one child policy is forcing women to commit abortion), Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva is considered as the Bodhisattva for the souls of babies who died.

Sacred Girl would always make offerings and recitation of prayers to help save her mother’s soul. One day, while she was making an offering and prayers at the temple, she heard the Buddha of her era telling her to go home and recite his name in meditation if she truly wants to know how her mother was in the other world. She did what she was told and her consciousness through a vision was transported to a realm of Hell. There she met the guardian of hell who informed her that through her offerings and fervent prayer, she has helped her mother accumulate enough merit to negate her karma and she has ascended to heaven where she awaits to be reborn. Sacred Girl was greatly comforted with this; however, she saw the suffering to the souls in Hell, which greatly affected her. She then made a vow to do her best to relieve the beings in hell of their suffering in her future lives.

It is normal that people will call Ksitiagrbha a Buddha even if he is actually a Bodhisattva. That is because like Kuan Yin, it’s his choice to remain a Bodhisattva to help suffering people and sould.

At this time Sacred Girl is already considered as living Bodhisattva, much like how some people consider the Fourteenth Dalai Lama and Lama Zopa Rinpoche to be a living Bodhisattva. When Sacred Girl left her physical body and went to heaven, she was given the chance to go back so she can start her vow to save souls. This time she chooses to be male monk. Before he left heaven to assume his new life as a monk, he found that her mother when she was still Sacred Girl would also go back to earth to take a life of a dog; this is because she has to earn a lesson from being slanderous about the Triple Gems.

Ksitigarbha as a monk seek out Sacred Girl’s mother who is now a dog. The dog often acted as Ksitigarbha’s guard, which is a way for Sacred Mother’s mom to repay Sacred Girl’s love.

Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva is popularly depicted in two ways, one as a bald monk and the other one as a monk who wears a Five Leave Crown. He is depicted either seated or standing up on a lotus base. On his right hand is the Ringed Staff, which is carried by a lot of monks during his time. The Ringed Staff is also called the Alarm Staff; it is used to warn animals and insects that he is arriving so that he can avoid harming them by unintentionally stepping on them. In Feng Shui the ringed staff has come to symbolize the announcement of an impending danger. On his right hand is the Wish Fulfilling Jewel, which actually is a pearl. The Wish Fulfilling Jewel symbolizes the fact that Ksitigarbha has ability to help us fulfill our wishes. The Wish Fulfilling Jewel becomes a Fireball to help subdue negative energies such arguments or fighting. So it is not surprising that in some temple, you’ll see Ksitigarbha holding a round ball signifying the Wish Fulfilling Jewel, while in other he holds the Fireball. These two are actually one and the same. In Feng Shui, the Ksitigarbha fireball signifies the taming of arguments and fighting.

From my personal collection. A rare Red Amber Ksitigarbha.

Having an image of Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva at home or as a pendant, will help people who are going through some hardships, Ksitgarbha will help make things better. Furthermore, having his image at home or as a pendant will also help people deal with the compulsion or addiction. Addiction and compulsion are a form of hell and suffering, thus devotion to Ksitigarbha will help. People who are going through a difficult time will get some relief if they have the image of Ksitigarbha.

If wearing it as a pendant, I prefer the image with the five leave crown.This is a rare red jasper Ksitigarbha pendant from my personal collection.

If you are suffering from a fixed karma, meaning karma from your past life and as indicated on your Paht Chee or Bazi, having Ksitigarbha’s image and reciting his mantra will help eradicate this negative past karma.

The mantra for this is OM PRA MANI DANI SOHA.

The other mantra for Ksitigarbha Buddha is OM AH KSITIGARBHA THALENG HUM.

His mantra in Chinese is NAMO DIZANG WANG P’USA.

If you wish to get an image of Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva, I find that an image of Ksitigarbha made of red jasper, or red amber is the best. The one made of jade only works for a select group of people.

Again, if using an image of Ksitigarbha at home, I prefer to use the one with the crown, unless, he is placed the ancestral altar.

Happy Fat Buddha or Laughing Buddha, as he is famously called by non-Buddhists, is undoubtedly one of the most famous and recognized image of a Buddha. The Happy Fat Buddha is in reality not a Buddha, at least, not yet. He is currently a Bodhisattva and a future Buddha who’ll replace the existing Historical Buddha which is Gautama Buddha or Sakyamuni (also spelled as Shakyamuni) Buddha. The Happy Fat Buddha or Laughing Buddha is in reality known as the Maitreya Buddha.

Buddhist scriptures states that we are currently under the ‘era’ of Sakyamuni Buddha, which is the fourth Buddha to have appeared on earth, there have been 3 others before him. It is said that his arrival will be at the time of the low point of human existence. He will come at a time where in mankind has forgotten about the Dharma (Buddhist teachings). This is not totally impossible because as shown in what is happening in Tibet, under the rule of China, the original Dharma is being purged and destroyed, albeit with extreme resistance from Tibetans and other Buddhists, but unfortunately, still with a lot of success. This answers why even after several recitations of Mantras it is still bound to happen, because it was prophesied in the Buddhist scriptures. In China, Buddhism has really taken a lot of different interpretations that are watered down. Buddhism, as any other religion in China, is closely monitored and censored by the government. Same thing is currently happening in other parts of Asia, such as Myanmar.

Going back to Maitreya Buddha or Happy Fat Buddha as he is normally called, is said to come when mankind is in need to be reminded of the Dharma. At present Maitreya Buddha is at present said to be living in Tusita Heaven, a celestial place where celestial Bodhisattvas are said to reside. In Tusita Heaven, it is said in the Buddhist scriptures, Maitreya Buddha constantly recites mantras and sutras for us. He also continuously gets lessons in preparation for his coming to earth where he’ll achieve enlightenment within 7 days and become a Buddha so that he can impart to us the Dharma.

Typically pictured seated on a throne either cross legged or feet flat on the floor, signifying that he’s waiting for his time, Maitreya is originally pictured as a slim, handsome prince. He is also usually dressed as a Indian royalty (India being the origin of Buddhism). As representation of him being a Bodhisattva, it is not uncommon to see that he is also adorned with jewels. A Khata is usually tied around his waist much like a belt.

Maitreya Buddha pictured in his original image.

Another representation of Maitreya Budda.

The idea of him pictured as a Happy Fat Buddha came about of what he represents. The Maitreya Buddha represents wealth, health, love, happiness or joy, success, peace, and harmony. In short, he represents what each person aspire for.

There are several stories as to why the image of Maitreya Buddha became that of the Happy Fat Buddha or Laughing Buddha. In fact, Maitreya is derived from Maitri which means Loving Kindness.

One of the story states that the image of the Happy Fat Buddha came about because of the Chinese buddhist monk Budai. Budai either claimed or people saw in him the qualities of Maitreya Buddha (the written history about this are not clear) that when he passed away people started using his image as the image of Maitreya Buddha.

Another story claims that Maitreya one day visited earth to share the sutras, however, all the women are unable to absorb his teachings because all they can see is a very handsome young prince and they fell in-love with him. Seeing that his image causes women to be distracted he transformed himself to a fat bald man.

Still another story is quite simple. When Buddhism was introduced in China, they’re unable to comprehend some aspect of the teachings of Buddhism. For example, Kuan Yin is a female representation of Avalokitesvara, the ‘Male’ Buddha of Compassion. However, Chinese are unable to comprehend the idea of a very loving, gentle, compassionate MALE being, to make it easier for the people to understand the character and teachings of Avalokitesvara, they decided to represent her with a female image called Kuan Yin or Kwan Sheer Yin (He or She who hears the cries of the world). Allow me to briefly share here that it is said that it is Avalokitesvara himself who instructed some Indian and Tibetan monks through a vision to represent him as Kuan Yin. This is not totally veering away from reality, because in truth, celestial Buddhist gods are androgynous, they are neither male or female, or it can be said they are both male and female. Since at that time Chinese always associates wealth and health with plumpness, and happiness, love, harmony with a happy face, these characteristics became the representation of Maitreya Buddha in China.

Personally, I believe that the 3rd story is the most plausible explanation.

When I come across a big image of the Maitreya Buddha as a the Happy Fat Buddha or Laughing Buddha, or when I pray to him, I usually rub his stomach to signify the asking of blessing. It’s an affectionate gesture. However, never touch the head of a Buddha, because in Buddhism it is only monks, your elders or superiors who can touch the head of a person who is ‘beneath’ them.

Most of the images of the Happy Fat Buddha depicts him on a relax mode. There’s another image of him on his legs. Either of the two images are considered very auspicious.

Placing the image of Maitreya Buddha, either as the handsome young prince or as the Happy Fat Buddha or Laughing Buddha helps generate his blessings of happiness, harmony, love, peace, wealth, good health, etc. However, in the Philippines it is easier to get his image as the Laughing Buddha. Also this particular image also gives a psychological effect for all those who see it. It reminds us to be happy, it reminds us to become positive, and at the very least, because of how he looks as the Happy Fat Buddha, it creates an atmosphere of happiness and harmony.

You can place his image either on your altar, or any parts of your house except in the bedroom (for married couples) and or in the rest room.

This is from my personal collection. I wear this pendant everyday. In choosing an image of the Happy Fat Buddha to be worn as a pendant, always look for the face. Make sure that it has happy jolly face.

Wearing an image of the Maitreya Buddha as a pendant is also very auspicious and serves as an homage to him. In return, you get to tap into his blessings.

When I was designing the WISH FULFILLING AND BUDDHA’S BLESSING MANTRA PENDANT, a pendant that I initially designed for myself and for my family but has since then become a popular charm for my readers garnering a lot of very positive personal testimonies, my frustration is not having enough space to include the image of the Happy Fat Buddha. However, since I have a separate Happy Fat Buddha pendant I see no need to include. I’m just happy that the WISH FULFILLING AND BUDDHA’S BLESSING MANTRA PENDANT has since then become an instrument of good luck to a lot of my readers.